Supercars may be back at Pukekohe

The New Zealand round of the Supercars could end up back at Pukekohe Park Raceway if organisers are forced to postpone next month’s event at Hampton Downs.

The round was due to take place from April 24-26 and had previously been moved from Pukekohe to Hampton Downs in January, when it was discovered that changes to the Auckland Unitary Plan banned motor racing at Pukekohe Park on Anzac Day.

Supercars and Ateed, the arm of Auckland Council which gives significant money to the New Zealand round, are both working out how to deal with the government’s announcement on Saturday that anyone arriving into the country has to self isolate for 14 days.

It’s unpractical to expect the 300 or so mechanics, drivers and staff, who come to each Supercars event, to spend two weeks in isolation after arriving from Australia.

While the New Zealand government’s stance is only in place for 17 days, there’s every chance it will be extended and Supercars officials won’t be able wait until that time period is up before making decisions.

It is understood that there will be meetings between Supercars and Ateed early this week and in all likelihood the New Zealand round will be postponed to later in the year.

The rest of the season in Australia is also under a cloud because of the Australian government’s ban on any gathering of more than 500 people, so the next round of the series, in

Tasmania on April 3-5 is also in grave doubt.

‘‘While discussions are currently taking place, Supercars has not made any decisions about upcoming events,’’ Supercars said in a statement.

‘‘We are continuing to monitor the situation and will comply with the latest government health advice as the coronavirus situation continues to evolve.

‘‘Should we need to postpone an event, we are fully prepared to adapt our calendar to deliver a complete Championship in 2020.

‘‘The safety of our people and fans remains our priority, we will provide further event information when it becomes available.’’

If the Auckland round is pushed back to later in the year, there wouldn’t be the need to hold the event at Hampton Downs.

Given that Auckland ratepayers contribute $1.2 million to the event through Ateed, it wouldn’t be a a good look to continue to have the New Zealand round outside the Auckland boundaries.

It may be unfortunate for those involved with the Hampton Downs track that they could miss out on holding the Auckland round, after coming to the rescue when Pukekohe Park became unavailable, but the numbers are better moving it back up State Highway One.

There is the factor of how many spectators that will be able to come to the event. Last year there were well over 100,000 people at the three-day event, while Hampton Downs has a resource consent capacity of just 20,000 per day.

Given the financial hit everyone’s taking, it would be prudent for Supercars to get back as much money as possible.